Major work planned for W.V. road

Then you'll really love what West Valley City and the Granger Hunter Improvement District have planned this summer for 3100 South from I-215 to 4800 West:Widening to five lanes. A huge trench about 18 feet deep. Monster mounds of earth. New sections of curb, gutter and sidewalk. Complete reconstruction of the roadway. Not to mention more of those cheerful flagpersons and colorful road barricades.

Yep, another summer of fun.

The multi-tiered project actually has several components:

- West Valley City, which will serve as construction manager, will widen and resurface the road as well as install curb, gutter and sidewalk throughout.

- The Granger Hunter Improvement District will lay a 48-inch sewer main and a 24-inch water main from I-215 to 4800 West.

- Utility companies will have an opportunity to upgrade or move their lines while the road is torn up for the reconstruction.

- Other sewer and water lines also will be installed on side streets, including 3450 West and 4800 West between 3100 and 3500 South.

Bids on the massive $15 million road reconstruction/water/sewer project should be opened by April or May, said West Valley City's spokesman Ed Quinlan.

Construction is expected to begin some time in June and should finish up by December 1999.

Reconstruction work will force some 13,000 to 19,000 motorists already using 3100 South each day to look for other routes, Quinlan said.

"(Construction workers) will do the work in sections, and cut the road off in lengths of a little less than a quarter of a mile," he noted. "Each section will have to be done all at once - the (sewer) pipe is so big it has to be buried 18 feet underground.

"That's going to be a massive hole," the spokesman added.

Quinlan said 3100 South was only designed to carry 12,000 to 15,000 vehicles a day and has been operating over capacity for some time.

The new road and utility lines are intended to improve service to the northwest quadrants of both West Valley City and the improvement district.

In addition, the project calls for the construction of two traffic signals on 3100 South at its intersections with 3450 West and 4400 West.

Quinlan said both of those signals are being installed near public schools to improve crossing conditions for students.

City officials also indicate they are continuing to work with area residents and a local citizen group that have opposed widening 3100 South because they believe it will only encourage more traffic moving at faster speeds.

Dave Fisher, who is co-chairman of a Neighborhood Watch and community affairs coalition that calls itself "Eyes of the West," has called for measures to help ensure student safety and to avoid left-turn bottlenecks along 3100 South.

The group has also told city officials they want the residential atmosphere of the area preserved and would like improved traffic flows to the E Center.